​In March 2016 French agriculture minister, Stephane Le Foll ordered for there to be a parliamentary investigation into animal cruelty taking place at abbatoirs.

This was coupled with inspections of 263 abbatoirs across the country. The inquest came about as a response to the release of a video by the animal rights group L214 that showed workers abusing animals in a abbatoir in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques.

It is anticipated that the report, which has involved over 30 MPs, will suggest that CCTV should be used in the areas where animals are killed in the abbatoirs, along with a lengthy list of other recommendations. This is to discourge poor welfare standards and to ensure transparency in the system.

Animal rights campaigners suggest that animal cruelty laws must be tightened and those who cause suffering to animals should be punished severely. They hope that the measures recommended by the report will be implemented and that in the long term animal cruelty will be a thing of the past in French abbatoirs.

Top Left: A French prosecutor has announced the launch of an inquiry after a video appeared to show the mistreatment of animals at Le Vigan slaughterhouse. Photograph: Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty

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